Weekly Ocean News

DATASTREME OCEAN WEEK ONE: 21-25 January 2013

Items of Interest:

Ocean charts, units, location and time -- Please read this week's Supplemental Information…In Greater Depth for a description of a several types of oceanographic charts along with the definitions of some units commonly used in ocean science to locate positions on the Earth's surface and to identify time.
Free admission into the National Parks -- This coming Monday 21 January 2013 has been designated by the National Park Service as fee-free days in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. This fee waiver will cover entrance and commercial tour fees in many of the national parks and monuments administered by the Park Service. [National Park Service Fee Free Days]

Ocean in the News:

Eye on the tropics --- During the last week, organized tropical cyclone (low pressure systems such as tropical storms and hurricanes that form over tropical oceans) activity was limited to the Indian and western Pacific Ocean basins of the Southern Hemisphere:
In the South Indian Ocean basin Tropical Cyclone Narelle, which had become a major category 4 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale late in the previous week, weakened and disintegrated as it traveled toward the south off the western coast of Australia early last week. Additional information and satellite imagery can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page for Tropical Cyclone Narelle.
Another tropical cyclone, later identified as Tropical Storm Emang, formed over the waters of the central South Indian Ocean to the east-southeast of Diego Garcia last weekend. This relatively weak tropical storm tracked erratically toward the southwest last week before dissipating late last Thursday. See the NASA Hurricane Page for satellite imagery and additional information on Tropical Storm Emang.
In the western South Pacific, Tropical Cyclone 10 P formed late Sunday (local time) several hundred miles to the west-northwest of Pago Pago in America Samoa. This system, with tropical storm-force winds (39-74 mph), was forecast to track to the east and then southeast toward American Samoa, with possible intensification to a category 1 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale by Wednesday.
Call made for nominations to International Pacific Halibut Commission seats -- During the last week NOAA Fisheries issued a call for public nominations to fill two vacant commissioner seats on the International Pacific Halibut Commission. The commissioners represent the interests of the United States and all of its stakeholders in the Pacific halibut fishery. [NOAA Fisheries News Release]
Results of environmental study on arctic bowhead whale catch limits released -- After evaluation of the overall effects of human activities associated with subsistence whaling in northern Alaskan waters, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service has determined that those bowhead whale catch limits adopted by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) for aboriginal subsistence whalers in Alaska and Russia over the next 6 years are sustainable. A final decision will be scheduled for February. [NOAA Fisheries News Release]
Cooperative navigational charting program renewed -- Late last week, officials with NOAA and the U.S. Power Squadrons, a non-profit education organization dedicated to safe boating, signed a Memorandum of Agreement that renewed their 50-year commitment to a cooperative charting program designed to help update the nation's thousands of navigational charts. [NOAA News]
Satellites help rescue over 260 people last year -- During last year (2012), 263 people were rescued from life-threatening situations throughout the US and on its surrounding waters in part because of the role that NOAA’s fleet of seven operational satellites played. Detecting distress signals from emergency beacons, these satellites helped pinpoint the location of these people and relay this information to first responders who perform the actual rescue. NOAA's geosynchronous and polar-orbiting satellites are part of the international COSPAS-SARSAT (COSPAS a Russian abbreviation for "Space System for the Search of Vessels in Distress" and SARSAT "Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking") system. [NOAA News]
High-tech plane deployed to improve winter storm forecasts -- NOAA's twin-engine Gulfstream IV jet aircraft has been deployed to Hawaii through February and then to Alaska in March to collect weather data over the data-sparse North Pacific Ocean for the National Weather Service in an effort to improve winter storm forecasts. This aircraft, which during the summer is used to study hurricanes, carries instruments that measure temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction and pressure. [NOAA News]
Global weather and climate for 2012 reviewed -- Scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) reported that based upon their preliminary analysis of worldwide land and ocean surface temperature data, the annual worldwide combined land and ocean surface temperature for 2012 was approximately 0.57 Celsius degrees (or 1.03 Fahrenheit degrees) above the 20th century (1901-2000) average, making the calendar year the tenth warmest for the planet since sufficiently detailed world-wide climate records began in 1880. Separately, the globally averaged land surface temperature for 2012 was 0.90 Celsius degrees above the 20th century average, or the seventh highest on record, while the globally averaged ocean surface temperature for the year was 0.45 Celsius degrees above the 20th century average, or the tenth highest on record. The scientists indicated that a weak to moderate La Niña event (an anomalous atmospheric and oceanic circulation regime favoring cool waters in the equatorial Eastern Pacific Ocean) during the first three months of the year, followed by ENSO-neutral conditions (standing for El Niño/Southern Oscillation) during the remainder of the year had an effect on the annual sea surface temperatures.
The scientists also note that the preliminary global precipitation data indicate 2012 was close to long-term averages across the land areas, although some areas of the planet were exceptionally wet, while others experienced drought conditions. [NOAA/NCDC State of the Climate]
Using a slightly different methodology for averaging global surface temperatures, scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) reported that the global average temperature for 2012 was the ninth highest reading since 1880. [NASA GISS]
A description is made of the slight variations in globally averaged annual temperatures as produced by NASA's GIS, NOAA's NCDC, the United Kingdom's Met Office Hadley Centre/Climate Research Unit (CRU) and the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA). A graph of the variations in these four independent records is also available.
A robotic fish made to glide -- A team of engineers and scientists at Michigan State University have developed a high-tech robotic fish called Grace (Gliding Robot ACE) equipped to gather water temperature quality and other environmental data as it glides autonomously through lake and river water. Modifications were made to this fish to make it able to glide for long time spans, which dramatically reduces the power demand. [Michigan State University Today]
Melting of Arctic sea ice accelerates with melt ponds -- Researchers at Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research who have measured the light transmission through Arctic sea ice on a large scale have determined that where melt water ponds on Arctic sea ice, the ice melts more rapidly because more solar radiation penetrating into the water and ice is absorbed. [Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research]
New Antarctic geological timeline seen to aid future sea-level predictions -- A team of researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research and Norway's University of Tromsø have studied the average rate of glacial retreat in the Amundsen Sea region of West Antarctica since the end of the last Ice Age around 12,000 years ago using mud samples collected from the sea floor of the continental shelf in the Amundsen Sea. The radiocarbon dates of tiny fossilized marine animals obtained from these samples were used to generate a new timeline for the ice loss and glacier retreat in that region. The team concludes that the rapid changes observed by satellites over the last two decades at Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers may be exceptional and are unlikely to have happened more than three or four times during the last 10,000 years. The researchers believe that their new timeline can be used to help forecast future sea level rises associated with glacial retreat and ice loss. [British Antarctic Survey Press Release]
Multicellular marine organisms triggered "Great Oxidation Event" -- Evolutionary biologists from the Universities of Zurich and Gothenburg have shown that the development of cyanobacteria, or multicellular organisms capable of producing oxygen in ancient oceans, occurred as early as 2.3 billion years ago or shortly before the rise in free oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. This increase in atmospheric and oceanic oxygen has been called the "Great Oxidation Event." Thus the multicellularity of cyanobacteria appears to have played a significant role for development of current life on Earth. The researchers claim that since oxygen was poisonous for large numbers of anaerobic organisms, many of the anaerobic types of bacteria were eliminated, opening ecological 'niches' to many new types of multicellular cyanobacteria. [University of Zurich]
Fish kill along South Carolina coast due to low oxygen levels -- Local and state officials from South Carolina determined that the hundreds of dead Menhaden fish that had washed upon on the beaches of Pawleys Island along the South Carolina coast were victims of hypoxia, a condition where dissolved oxygen levels in the seawater had drop to a level too low to sustain the fish. [WMBF News] (Editor's Note: Special thanks go to Terri Kirby Hathaway, a LIT Leader and a Marine Education Specialist for North Carolina Sea Grant in Manteo, NC and one of her DataStreme Ocean participants, Linda Fox a classroom teacher from Ardrey Kell HS in Charlotte, NC. EJH)
An All-Hazards Monitor -- This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, drought, floods, marine weather, tsunamis, rip currents, Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and coral bleaching. [NOAAWatch]
Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes -- A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, to include drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD --

A request: If you have some ocean-related experience that you would like to share with other DataStreme Ocean participants, please send them to the email address appearing at the bottom of this document for possible inclusion in a News file. Thank you. EJH

Concept of the Week: Touring the DataStreme Ocean Website

NOTE: This Concept for the Week is a repeat of that which appeared in last week's Weekly Ocean News.

Welcome to DataStreme Ocean! You are embarking on a study of the world ocean and the role of the ocean in the Earth system. This unique teacher enhancement course focuses on the flow and transformations of energy and water into and out of the ocean, the internal properties and circulation of the ocean, interactions between the ocean and the other components of the Earth system, and the human/societal impacts on and responses to those interactions. Throughout this learning experience, you will be using the DataStreme Ocean website to access and interpret a variety of environmental information, including recent observational data. The objective of this initial Concept of the Week is to explore features of the DS Ocean website.

On Monday of each week of the course, we will post the current Weekly Ocean News that includes Ocean in the News (a summary listing of recent events related to the ocean), Concept of the Week (an in-depth analysis of some topic related to the ocean in the Earth system), and Historical Events (a list of past events such as tsunamis or specific advances in the understanding of oceanography). When appropriate, a feature called Supplemental Information-In Greater Depth will be provided on some topic related to the principal theme of the week.

You will use the DS Ocean website to access and download the weekly "Current Ocean Studies" (plus supporting images) that complement Investigations found in your Ocean Studies Investigations Manual. These materials should be available Monday morning. Click the appropriate links to download and print these electronic Current Ocean Studies and answer forms as well as your Chapter Progress and Investigations Response forms.

The body of the DS Ocean website provides links to the Earth System, information on Physical & Chemical, Geological, and Biological aspects of the ocean, Atmosphere/Ocean Interaction, the Great Lakes, and extras-a glossary of terms, maps, educational links, and DataStreme Ocean information. Following each section is a link to other sites that examine the various subsystems of the Earth system. Let's take a quick tour to become more familiar with the DS Ocean website.

Under Physical & Chemical, click on Sea Surface Temperatures. This image uses a color scale to depict the global pattern of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) (in degrees Celsius) averaged over a recent 7-day period and based on measurements by infrared sensors onboard Earth-orbiting satellites. (Depending on your browser, you may have to place your mouse cursor on the slide bar to the right and scroll down to view the entire image.) Compare SSTs in the Northern Hemisphere with those in the Southern Hemisphere. Return to the DS Ocean website.

Under Geological, click on Current Earthquake Activity. The USGS Current World Seismicity page provides a global map of the locations of seismic (earthquake) events color-coded for the past seven days. The size of the squares represents the magnitude of recent earthquakes. Note how earthquakes are concentrated along the margin of the Pacific Ocean. Details of recent earthquakes can be found by clicking on their map squares. Return to the DS Ocean website.

The ocean is home to a wide variety of habitats and organisms. Under Biological, click on Ocean "Color" (Productivity). This is a satellite-derived (SeaWiFS) color-coded map of biological productivity in the surface waters of the world ocean is averaged from October 1978 to date. Orange and red indicates the highest productivity, while dark blue and violet indicate the lowest productivity. Note the vast areas of relatively low productivity over the central regions of the subtropical ocean basins. Individual months within this period may be chosen for viewing. Now return to the DS Ocean website.

Under Atmosphere/Ocean Interaction, click on TRMM Tropical Rainfall. The TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) page includes color-coded maps of the Monthly Mean Rainrate (in mm per day) across the tropics for the last 30 days ending on the present date. Changes in rainfall are linked to large-scale shifts in the atmosphere/ocean circulation in the tropics. Now return to the DS Ocean website.

Take a few minutes when you have time to browse the other data and information sources available via the DS Ocean website. You should "bookmark" ("favorites") this page on your computer. Return frequently to learn more about the many resources on the ocean in the Earth system. Bon voyage!

Concept of the Week: Questions

The latest global sea surface temperature map indicates that SSTs are generally higher over the [(western)(eastern)] tropical Pacific Ocean.
The USGS map of Current Earthquake Activity indicates that earthquakes appear to be more common along the [(east)(west)] coast of North America.

Historical Events

21 January 1881...The light was first shown at Tillamook Lighthouse, located 19 miles south of the Columbia River entrance on the Oregon coast. (USCG Historian's Office)
21 January 1941...The first commercial extraction of magnesium from seawater was made at Freeport, TX.
21 January 1954...The first nuclear powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched on the Thames River in Groton, CT, representing a landmark in the history of naval engineering and submersible craft. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower christened the vessel, which sailed beneath the Arctic icepack to the North Pole in 1958. (Today in Science History)
23 January 1622...William Baffin, the English explorer who sought the Northwest Passage as a route around the northern coast of North America, died at an estimated age of 38 during the war between the Shah of Persian and the Portuguese. In 1615, he explored what is now known as Baffin Bay, coming within 800 miles of the North Pole. His voyages were made with scientific care, determining latitudes, and observing tides. With records made of his compass needle, he made the first magnetic chart. He was the first to attempt a determination of longitude by observing the moon. (Today in Science History)
23 January 1960... The Trieste, In 1960, a specially constructed submersible bathyscaphe descended to a depth of 35,810 feet in the Pacific Ocean called the Challenger Deep, the deepest point known to exist on Earth, in the Marianas Trench near Guam. (Today in Science History)
26 January 1700...The Cascadia Earthquake (magnitude 9) took place off the coast of British Columbia, as evidenced by Japanese records. Landslides and a tsunami destroyed many Native American villages along the coasts of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, including Vancouver Island. Japanese written history tells of a massive tsunami striking fishing villages the next day along the coast of Honshu, killing hundreds. (Wikipedia) (Today in Science History)
26 January 1983...The California coast was battered by a storm, which produced record high tides, thirty-two foot waves, and mudslides, causing millions of dollars in damage. The storm then moved east and dumped four feet of snow on Lake Tahoe. (22^nd-29^th) (The Weather Channel)
28 January 1946...Canada's greatest sailing ship, Bluenose, foundered on a Haitian reef; all hands were saved. Her likeness remains on the Canadian ten-cent coin. (Wikipedia)
28 January 1969...A series of storms that battered Southern California from the 18^th to the 28^th led to $125 million damage in the Los Angeles Basin, along with approximately 9 storm and traffic-related deaths in California. Twenty feet of water covered Sherman Island, a region that contains more than 10,000 dike-protected agricultural acres, when a dike failed. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
28 January 1971...A waterspout swept into Hawaii's Kailua Bay, then into the business and hotel district of Kailua-Kona, destroying or severely damaging a number of buildings including 40 apartment units and collapsing a 6-story hotel under construction. Amazingly, only four people were injured. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
29-30 January 1966...A hurricane that struck Samoa was responsible for 50 deaths, destroyed more than one-third of the homes and damaged the remainder. As many as 50,000 people were left homeless. Swains Island was leveled by the hurricane. Winds gusted to 100 mph at Pago Pago. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
29 January 1983...A series of Pacific coast storms finally came to an end. The storms, attributed in part to the anomalous ocean-atmosphere phenomenon, "El Niño," produced ocean swells 15 to 20 feet high that ravaged the beaches of southern California. Much of the damage was to homes of movie stars in the exclusive Malibu Colony. (The Weather Channel)